


Dandelion Dreams

by meimie



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Camboy Byun Baekhyun, Drama, Explicit Language, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Park Chanyeol-centric, Romance, Student Chanyeol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 08:27:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16929858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/meimie/pseuds/meimie
Summary: Chanyeol is broke, in love, and in need of a roommate. Baekhyun just wants attention. (camboy!au)





	Dandelion Dreams

“Hi, roommate.”  
  
Sleep still heavy on his mind, Chanyeol doesn’t notice at first. At first, he just thinks the person in front of him is some stranger, maybe a neighbor or perhaps his mother coming to complain about his life decisions again. He soon realizes that’s not even close to the truth.   
  
Actually, it couldn’t be further from it.   
  
“You’re Chanyeol, right?”  
  
Because when he looks up, and when he recognizes the face of the “stranger”, all he can see is red, and blue, maybe even green — but not clear at all. In his surprise, Chanyeol slams the door shut.  
  
“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck—”  
  
Cursing loudly, he dials his best friend’s number, hands shaking as he does so.  
  
_“What?”_ Jongin’s sleepy voice fills the air only a few rings later, and Chanyeol’s almost certain he’s going to get killed for this soon enough, but right now, he doesn’t care. This is an  _emergency_. _“It’s like 7 am, someone better fucking died, Chanyeol—”_  
  
“WORSE!” Like the overdramatic man child he is, he wails, “ _So_ much worse!”  
  
_“Wh— Calm down. Deep breaths, okay?”_ Jongin soothes, quickly sensing the terror in the other’s voice.   
  
Moved by the fact that Jongin doesn’t brush him off in favor of his beauty sleep, Chanyeol starts with the intention to listen—and actually calm down _—_ when the sound of a soft knock echoes through the hallway.  
  
“Shit—” he eloquently bites out instead, trying to soothe his pulse, “ _He_ ’s here, Jongin, fuck, why is  _he_ here, I can’t— ouch!”  
  
_“What happened?!”_  
  
“I pinched myself... Oh god. It’s not a dream. He’s actuallyhere.”  
  
_“WHO? What’s going on, Chanyeol?”_ Jongin’s voice grows more agitated as well, and Chanyeol can make out some faint rustling on the other end of the line.  
  
“B-B-B-B—”   
  
_“... B?”_  
  
“B-Baekhyun. Byun Baekhyun.”  
  
_“Baekhyun...?”_ Jongin murmurs, gears slowly but surely starting to move inside his head. _“That camboy you’re so in love with?”_  
  
“YES! Wait, love is a pretty strong word, you know—”  
  
_“Sure. Are you drunk?”_  
  
“I’m not!” Grumbling, Chanyeol suddenly gasps, “W-Wait—”  
  
_“Hi, roommate.”_  
  
Oh.   
  
“Oh my god. He’s my roommate. Oh my god.”  
  
_“Chanyeol, I know you’re stupid, but I’m pretty sure you don’t have a roommate.”_  
  
“No no no, I put an ad up because I wasted all my money on a new guitar, and I’m fucking poor, did you know you need money to eat, because I didn’t, anyway, someone applied, and I accepted, I didn’t know it was  _him_ though _, holy shit—_ ”  
  
_“Jesus Christ! Listen up, turd.”_  
  
Flinching slightly, Chanyeol holds the phone a couple centimeters away from his face, “...Yeah?”  
  
_“I’m gonna hang up now.”_ Jongin sighs, much louder than necessary as he was probably inwardly crying for himself and his lost sleep, _“And you, my friend, are going to behave like a normal human being and let him in. Understood?”_  
  
Despite Jongin not being able to see him, Chanyeol sulks.  
  
“Fine,” he huffs in defiance though he’d much rather jump off a skyscraper.  
  
_“Good.”_ Jongin’s voice softens, volume reasonable at last, _“I’ll drop by later, okay? See if you’re still alive.”_  
  
“Okay.”  
  
_“Let me know if you plan on fucking him though, I wouldn’t wanna be in the way of that—”_  
  
“ _Bye_ , Jongin.”  
  
Cupping his cheeks as if he were an embarrassed middle school girl, Chanyeol groans as the images fill his mind. He initially expected Jongin to murder him, but right now, he’s almost sure he’s going to be the one doing the murdering, because haha. Fuck. Why do that. Hahaha. Why. (That dumb brat.)  
  
“I’m cold!”  
  
Chanyeol yelps when Baekhyun’s melodic voice resonates even through his front door, and he can almost hear the pout on his beautiful lips, _those lips he knows can do so much more than just kiss someone breathless—_  
  
“Please let me in, oh, beautiful stranger~”  
  
“Fuck. Me.”  
  
Sighing one last time, Chanyeol tries to compose himself, cracking his neck in hopes of relieving at least some of the tension. Slowly, he approaches the door and places his hand on the knob before more thoughts of jumping out the window (or better yet, from the roof) could tempt him, proceeding to pull with sweaty palms, and surely enough... there he is. Byun Baekhyun in all his glory (and skintight jeans).  
  
He’s sitting on the staircase, arms resting on top of his knees in support of his chin. Baekhyun looks absolutely and undeniably adorable, and the soft smile playing on his lips doesn’t help.  
  
“You done freaking out?” Baekhyun laughs, and Chanyeol almost feels attacked by his pearly whites. (His hygienic habits—obsessive and borderline unhealthy, honestly—were very pleased though.)  
  
“No.” he answers without thinking, “I-I mean, uh, yeah. Of course. Come in.”  
  
Inwardly slapping himself for acting like an idiot, Chanyeol scowls and steps aside. Now that everything’s sunk in, he feels terrible. Baekhyun must have thought he was terrible, and weird. Terribly weird.  
  
“Thanks.” All he does is giggle though, strutting past him with a kittenish pep in his steps. That’s when Chanyeol notices something weird, even forgetting his everlasting embarrassment for a moment.  
  
“Wait, is this all you’re bringing?”  
  
He points to the box in the Baekhyun’s hands, knowing it could never in a million years contain all the belongings of a grown man. Barely two of Chanyeol’s jackets could fit in there, and he’d most definitely have to squeeze them in. Very strange, for sure.  
  
“Oh. No, that’s just the necessities. I’ll bring more stuff over time.”  
  
“Why’s that?”  
  
The other’s bright facade actually mellows a little at that, though the pout on his lips is still very much playful, “I don’t have a car, and I’m just one person, you know.”  
  
“Oh, I have a car.” Chanyeol blurts before he can stop himself, “I-I mean, uh... you know. I can help.”  
  
_Idiot, idiot, idiot—_  
  
“Thanks,” The smile returns to Baekhyun’s face quicker than expected, almost sending the taller into cardiac arrest when he reaches out with his hands to cup Chanyeol’s ears while staring up at him, “Yoda.”  
  
“Stop that—”  
  
“Sorry.” Laughing pleasantly, the smile doesn’t seem to leave Baekhyun’s face anytime soon, however, he still looks sincere when he speaks his next words, “Thank you, really. I’ll take you up on that offer.”  
  
“S-Sure... you’re welcome.”  
  
Rubbing his ears which used to cause him a lot of self-esteem issues during his younger years, Chanyeol eyes Baekhyun from the corner of his eyes, and suddenly... there’s the images again.  
  
Baekhyun is a camboy.  
  
Chanyeol’s  _favorite_ camboy.  
  
He’s seen him do a lot, to say the least, so Chanyeol was well in his right to feel awkward. And on top of that, he might have  _a bit_ of a crush on Baekhyun — okay, he might have more than just a bit of a crush on him. Which only adds to the level of awkwardness. Which is just wonderful, of course.  
  
“ _Fuck_.” Chanyeol curses under his breath, and god, now he’s staring again, and wow, he looks even better in real life, great,  _fucking_ _fantastic—_  
  
“Where’s the bathroom?”  
  
Baekhyun’s questioning tone pulls Chanyeol out of his reverie, eyes hanging on the other’s lips for maybe just a second too long. Swallowing visibly, he rips his gaze off Baekhyun in hopes of calming his heart just a bit. It’s very hard though, considering the man in front of him is just absolutely and utterly gorgeous, even without the heavy make-up he likes to put on for his shows. Baekhyun looks an entirely different kind of beautiful like this, Chanyeol notices.   
  
Actively trying to refrain from making eye contact in fear of awakening more memories that could get him in trouble (aka turn him into a 12 year old boy going through the worst stages of puberty), he guides Baekhyun to the bathroom, totally unaware of the knowing, almost mischievous gazes sent his way. He gives Baekhyun one last strained smile as he points to the several doors down the corridor, “Your room is the third down the hallway, feel free to make yourself comfortable,” he mumbles, “I’ll just— uh, be in my room, or... something. Yeah. Bye.”  
  
“Thanks, Yoda.”   
  
Baekhyun laughs, melting Chanyeol’s insides with his smile. And even though the nickname still pisses him off to this day, he can’t stop the butterflies in his stomach from going haywire. 

 

 

 

 

 

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

 

 

 

 

 

 

While Baekhyun is busying himself in the bathroom, Chanyeol returns to his room. A drawn out sigh escapes him, body floating back into the inviting sheets.  
  
7:15 am, the clock reads; what an ungodly hour to be awake at, he muses. Ironically enough, right as that thought crosses him, Chanyeol finds himself slowly drifting away. And even through the embarrassment, and the agitation, he  _does_ seem to sleep for a long time seeing as the sun is already shining high and bright when he opens his eyes again. Blinding him mercilessly.  
  
“What a dream...”  
  
“I know right? Crazy.”  
  
“Wh—” Jumping beneath his blankets, Chanyeol’s eyes fly to his side, and he barely manages not to fall off his bed at the image he’s greeted with.  
  
It wasn’t a dream.   
  
_Again_.  
  
“Morning, sleepyhead.” Baekhyun snickers, seated comfortably next to Chanyeol like it’s the most natural thing to do. Clad in only an oversized shirt that barely covers his thighs, his skin is exposed and put on full display for Chanyeol’s eyes to feast on, hair slightly damp. He must have taken a shower.  
  
“What are you...” Chanyeol begins, swallowing around nothing, “What are you doing here?”  
  
“I got lonely,” Baekhyun’s voice does a complete 360 as he puts his phone down, staring the other dead in the eye. He sounds needy, and god fucking dammit —  _Chanyeol’s heard this voice before._  
  
“I-Is that so?”  
  
Gaze wandering from the taller’s eyes to his lips, his intentions should be obvious enough. However, Chanyeol’s lost almost all of his comprehension skills the moment he saw Baekhyun in that shirt, so there wasn’t much room left for expectation in that regard. That much was clear.   
  
“Yeah.” Baekhyun continues lowly, throwing a leg over Chanyeol’s hips in order to make himself comfortable in his lap. Feeling him tense almost immediately, Baekhyun smiles.  
  
“What are you doing—”  
  
“Just trying to get to know my roommate,” Satisfaction plastered all over his face, he places both his hands on the base of Chanyeol’s neck, thumbs massaging the skin tenderly. Baekhyun looks unbothered and relaxed, a stark contrast to the man beneath him, “what’s your full name?”  
  
“P-Park Chanyeol.”  _Oh dear god, why—_  
  
“You have a great voice, Chanyeol. It’s very deep...” Hands wandering down Chanyeol’s neck, Baekhyun lets them rest on his shoulders, playing with the fabric there.  
  
“Thanks, but—”  
  
“How old are you? You have to be my age.”  
  
“T-Twenty-one?”  
  
“Fuck, I’m twenty-two.” Baekhyun’s voice is turning huskier by the second, and Chanyeol thinks he might just die with the way he’s being stared at. However, he knows he has to put an end to Baekhyun’s advances when his hands go lower and his lips nearer, dangerously close to Chanyeol’s pulse point. Painfully aware of the fact that he wouldn’t be able to stop himself if he didn’t, he pushes Baekhyun off.   
  
“Let’s not...”  
  
“Huh?” Lower lip jutting out, Baekhyun frowns, “Why?”  
  
“I-It’s not smart for roommates to hook up—” The lamest excuse of the century? Possible.  
  
“Why? It’s just casual fun.”  
  
Casual? Chanyeol frowns.  _For you maybe_.  
  
“I...” When he turns back to Baekhyun, one of Chanyeol’s eyes briefly catches the clock hanging on the wall behind him. To his surprise, it’s not nearly as early as he thought it was. “Fuck, I’m late—”  
  
Pushing Baekhyun fully off himself, Chanyeol stumbles off his bed, the previous tension between them gone and wiped off his mind. He can always worry later, he decides in a flurry, leaving a perplexed Baekhyun behind as he rushes around, spending significantly more time brushing his teeth than necessary while also trying to somehow make himself look like a full course meal within a time limit of 10 minutes.  
  
“Fuck, frick, fucking frick—” Articulate as always, Chanyeol shimmies out of the pants and the T-Shirt he slept in. He doesn’t notice a certain pair of eyes following his every movement.  
  
“Fucking frick  _indeed_.” Baekhyun concurs, watching the other’s build with appreciation in his gaze. His eyes reveal he’s temped to just jump Chanyeol right then and there, especially when he turns around at the words, granting him a brief glimpse of his front. Thankfully, Baekhyun seems to know how to behave, somewhat... sometimes.  
  
“Where are you going?” he asks instead, exuding disappointment through every pore littering his being.   
  
“Work.”  
  
“You work?”  
  
“Yeah, candy shop down the street— ah, shit.” Noticing how his socks don’t match even closely, Chanyeol sighs, deciding to just fuck it and go with it. Fashion is subjective, after all.  
  
“Oh.” Mouth forming a perfect “O”, Baekhyun still seems distracted, when he throws his legs over the edge of the bed and follows the other to the door.  
  
Meanwhile, Chanyeol hurries to pocket his wallet and his keys, ready to grab the doorknob — something he never gets to do, as all of a sudden, something catches onto his hand. Spinning him around with impressive strength, need was palpable in the air between them. Chanyeol could feel it.   
  
“Wh—” His breath hitches, cutting his own words short when he notices it’s Baekhyun’s hand holding onto him, and to Chanyeol’s dilemma, it’s also Baekhyun who grabs him by the back of the head next. Pulling him in, “Wh... What are you—”  
  
“Pssht...”  
  
The warm smile on Baekhyun’s lips contrasts his dark eyes perfectly. Quickly, he leans in, innocently pressing a chaste but burning kiss to the corner of the other’s mouth.   
  
“Oops. I missed.”  
  
Baekhyun doesn’t leave Chanyeol any time to react, sending him one last grin before he ruthlessly closes the door in his face.   
  
“Enjoy your day at work!”

 

 

 

 

 

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

 

 

 

 

 

Thankfully, Chanyeol’s boss wasn’t too mad at him for being late (actually, he wasn’t mad at all — Chanyeol swears that man isn’t capable of negative emotions), and there aren’t many people around, allowing him to spend the majority of his time thinking about Baekhyun and questioning life. Maybe he could just have a heart attack and die his way out of the situation? That should work, technically.  
  
“Chanyeol,” Jongin mutters, sitting on a chair in front of the counter Chanyeol’s forced to keep his ass at for about 4 hours a day, three times a week. Jongin visits him a lot at work, saying he likes the “cute” and “happy” atmosphere caused by both the shop’s bright interior and the owner’s kindhearted nature.  
  
It’s nice, having him there. He keeps Chanyeol entertained.   
  
“You’ve been stuffing your face with those jelly beans for ten minutes now.”  
  
“Jongin, he  _actually_ _kissed_ me—”  
  
Snatching the bag of sweets out of Chanyeol’s hands, Jongin cocks a brow, “He hardly kissed you. Also, shouldn’t you be more freaked out about him trying to get in your pants?”  
  
Whining, Chanyeol tries to get the bag back, pouting like only a child could. He eventually just lets it be, sinking back into his chair with dejection written all over his face, “Of course I am! But I... I don’t even know. I’m not used to feeling this way.”  
  
This makes Jongin smile, even though he hates seeing the other like this, upset and confused. The two best friends have always been very close, trusting each other blindly which is why Jongin knows this is indeed the first time the other’s plagued by these types of worries. As far as he’s concerned, Chanyeol’s never been properly in love.  
  
He always loved the  _idea_ of love, of settling down with someone who loved him more than he loved himself, but that’s basically it. Just ideas. Fantasies. No one ever really spiked Chanyeol’s interest, even though he’s not that young anymore — until he discovered Baekhyun. Out of all people, it had to be Baekhyun; someone Chanyeol doesn’t know much about, hell, he knows near to nothingabout him due to his occupation, due to the platform Chanyeol found him on. Jongin still can’t understand how his best friend fell for the camboy because, yes, he does have a cute face and all, but Chanyeol isn’t shallow. He’s never been.   
  
And while sexual attraction obviously plays a role in this, it’s definitely not everything. Chanyeol’s been talking about the man almost non-stop ever since he first saw him, and Jongin knows his affection is real, obvious in the way his eyes soften at the thought of him, ears turning red whenever he’s being teased about falling for someone other people only turn to for sexual favors. It’s very strange, honestly.  
  
“What are you laughing at?” Chanyeol continues sulking, offended as hell when Jongin dares to chuckle.  
  
“Nothing, it’s just...” he replies, still smiling, “Everyone else would be happy to be living with their crush, but you look like you’re about to shit yourself.”  
  
“That’s because I am! I don’t wanna mess this up!” Grabbing another bag off one of the shelves, Chanyeol rips it open and stuffs a handful inside his mouth, chewing on the candy like a distressed camel, “He could be my soulmate!”  
  
“You’re an idiot.” Jongin shakes his head as he takes that bag out of Chanyeol’s hands as well, giving him a pointed look that clearly states ‘it’s either the candy or your abs’ to which the other simply sits down again, huffing. “If he’s your ‘soulmate’, you two will somehow end up together. If not, you won’t. This sorta stuff needs to happen naturally, Chanyeol.”  
  
“But—”  
  
Jongin groans, “Just  _relax_. Stressing won’t make him fall in love with you.”  
  
Sighing for the umpteenth time, Chanyeol chews on his lower lip, considering Jongin’s words. He’s not wrong, or at least he doesn’t soundwrong. It seems he’s quite confident with his advice as well, doesn’t it?  
  
“Jongin?”  
  
“Yeah?”  
  
“How many dramas have you watched this week?”  
  
“Why?”  
  
“Just answer.”  
  
“Eight.”  
  
Well. That explains it.

 

 

 

 

 

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · 

 

 

 

 

 

When Chanyeol returns home from work that day, he’s stunned for a moment. Visibly confused, he nears his small cheap counter that’s probably never seen anything but his keys and his wallet, frowning.  
  
There’s a single, bright dandelion in a small pot sitting on top of the wood. Glaring at Chanyeol.   
  
“What the...?” Entering the bathroom, Chanyeol’s frown deepens.  _Another_ dandelion, this time it’s next to the window. It doesn’t take long for Chanyeol to realize there’s at least one in every room, transforming the whole apartment’s atmosphere in an instant. How did they get there?  
  
_Baekhyun?_  
  
Sitting down on the couch of his living room, Chanyeol purses his lips, eyeing the flower staring at him from his coffee table. He almost starts feeling defensive, tempted to ask the yellow invader what the hell it’s looking at, when he feels two hands descending onto his shoulders. Along with the sensation of practiced fingers pressing away at his pressure points, a smooth voice fills the air.  
  
“You seem tense...”  
  
“Baekhyun?” Whipping his head around, Chanyeol eyes the other, gaze wandering to Baekhyun’s collarbones, his lips, and other places, but that’s not (as) important now, “What are all these flowers doing here?” he asks, trying to ignore how nervous he’s already feeling in the presence of the elder.  
  
“Oh.” Baekhyun is looking at him as if he’s just grown a second head. “I was just doing a bit of decorating. Hope you don’t mind?”  
  
So it _was_ him.  
  
“I don’t, but... why dandelions?”  
  
“Hm?” Retracting his hands immediately, Baekhyun crosses them in front of his chest instead. Voice dropping at least two octaves, he sounds weirdly offended all of a sudden, “What’s wrong with dandelions?”  
  
“Uhm, n-nothing I guess, but don’t most people go for like roses or tulips and stuff?”  
  
This seems to tick something off in Baekhyun, an uncharacteristic scowl taking place on his face.  
  
“Dandelions are just as beautiful as all the other flowers, ‘most people’ just fail to see it!”  
  
“If you say so—”  
  
“I’m not just saying so! I’m right!” Baekhyun seems genuinely upset, and it’s low key—high key—adorable in Chanyeol’s opinion. He wants to keep teasing him, but he knows he won’t after risking a glance at Baekhyun’s face. Something about his expression just tells him he really does feel strongly about those flowers (which Chanyeol couldn’t care less for if he had to be completely honest), and if there’s one thing Chanyeol wants to avoid, it’s pissing Baekhyun off.  
  
“Okay. I believe you.” he says then, offering a (sort of) real smile.  
  
Lifting his brows, Baekhyun stares at him for a moment. “Really?”  
  
“Yeah, yeah. They’re... cute. Totally cute.”  
  
Baekhyun keeps staring for a good few seconds, somewhat unreadable, but eventually breaks out in a smile. He looks like he was ready to fight a war for his precious dandelions, which is a little surreal but also only adds to his multitude of charms, Chanyeol thinks.  
  
“Alright, now that that’s out of the way.”   
  
... And there it is again.  _That lethal smirk._  
  
Adorableness gone, Baekhyun walks around the couch and approaches Chanyeol slowly, his movements elegant and almost feline, “You know, Chanyeol...” he purrs, nearing in.  
  
“What?” Voice strained, the younger tries to stretch the gap between them, but it’s hard with him sitting down and Baekhyun standing right in front of him, eyes boring into his like nails hammering into concrete. All Chanyeol can do is maybe scoot to the side. However, even that option is taken from him when Baekhyun decides to close even the last bit of distance between them, flopping down into Chanyeol’s lap for the second time that day.  
  
“You’re exactly my type. Head to toe.” he breathes, trying to snake his arms around the taller’s neck, but Chanyeol stops him just in time. His fingers are firm around Baekhyun’s wrists, the movement slightly awkward.  
  
“Th-That’s great, but,” Chanyeol swallows the butterflies that emerge at Baekhyun’s flattering words, and although he’s speechless and still doesn’t know just  _what_ to do about this whole feelings-thing, somehow, he still manages to talk — _a lot._ “You know, I don’t really wanna rush into a, uh, physical relationship, like, I’m not emotionally ready for a commitment of this uh... extent. Yeah, that’s the word. So-So, let’s just back off a little and take it one step at a time, I mean, we really should get to know each other, preferably over a long period of time, and maybe become friends—”  
  
With every word, Chanyeol leans back more. At this point, he basically has Baekhyun’s hands shoved into his chest, trying to put as much space between them as possible, which ends up just looking plain awkward.  
  
“Wow. That’s... really boring.”   
  
Furrowing his brows, Baekhyun tries to free his limbs and get closer, but Chanyeol’s grip is tight, holding him at an arms length.   
  
“I don’t need to be your best friend in order to have sex with you!” he protests, “We’re young, Chanyeol. Loosen up.  
  
“... Please?”  
  
His tone is whiny, and dear god, it does  _things_ to Chanyeol. “N-No.”  
  
“Why not?”  
  
“Because—”  
  
“Are you in a relationship?”  
  
“No, but—”  
  
“You’re straight?”   
  
“No—”  
  
“Insecure?”   
  
“No!”  
  
“Oh god, are you a virgin?”  
  
“Geez,  _no_.”  
  
“Why then?” Baekhyun looks curious and innocent, like he genuinely doesn’t understand why Chanyeol wouldn’t wanna sleep with him right now.  
  
“I just...” Biting his lip, he averts his gaze, “I don’t take these things lightly... you know?”  
  
“I don’t. What does that mean?”  
  
_Ugh._ “It means that I prefer meaningful relationships over pointless hook-ups. Simple as that.” The words feel more than wrong coming out of his mouth because, after all, Chanyeol didhave his fair share of ‘pointless hook-ups’, yet not a single ‘meaningful relationship’. Still, that doesn’t make it a lie. Even if it seems like one.  
  
Chanyeol would pick a loving relationship over a one-night stand any day.  
  
“Oh.”  
  
Oh?   
  
“That’s unfortunate,” Baekhyun adds, any sort of sexual energy gone. He sounds bored and turned off, completely indifferent. However, his expression morphs into one of shock almost instantly, eyes widening as he stares at Chanyeol who stiffens at the sudden swings of mood and atmosphere, “W-Wait, you’re not— are you—”  
  
“Am I what?”  
  
“You don’t like— have a uhm... you know... fuck.”  
  
It’s the first time Chanyeol sees Baekhyun lose his confidence, let alone struggle with words, and it’s weird. What’s gotten into him so suddenly? Why does he look so panicked?  
  
“You’re not interested in me... in that way, right?”  
  
_Wait. What._  
  
“In,” Swallowing audibly, Chanyeol decides to ask even though it’s pretty clear what Baekhyun is referring to, ”what way...?”  
  
“Do you have a, you know, c-crush on... _me?_ ”  
  
_Oh god. Why._ “Why do you ask?”  
  
“Your reaction when you first saw me, the fact that you’re blushing whenever I touch you _—_ ”  
  
“I’m not blushing!”  
  
“Then what do you call going red in the face?!”  
  
“Sunburn!”  
  
“Right. Seriously though,” Baekhyun doesn’t look amused, nibbling on his lower lip in a nervous manner, “You don’t... Right?”  
  
“I,” Blinking, Chanyeol forces himself to remain seated. His voice comes out accordingly small, and he sounds bitter as he lies through gritted teeth, “Of course I don’t. Don’t be ridiculous.”  
  
He can’t help it. Lying has never been an easy feat for Chanyeol, the feeling of deceit taking over his mind and making him look like a constipated, upset puppy. It doesn’t seem like Baekhyun notices though. (Which must mean he  _really_ doesn’t want it to be true, because that was _—_  bad. Even for Chanyeol.)  
  
“Oh, thank god!” Slumping his shoulders, he in- and exhales loudly.  
  
To Chanyeol’s bewilderment, Baekhyun looks like he just lost a burden big enough to consume earth itself, blissfully unaware of how the other’s mood, in exchange, seems to be on its way to the bottom of the ocean. Would Chanyeol falling for him really be  _that_ horrible? The thought didn’t sit well with him.   
  
“Thank god...” Baekhyun repeats, looking way too relieved.  
  
Lifting himself off the other’s lap once Chanyeol finally let go off his hands, he turns to him with a faint, almost invisible smile, “It really is unfortunate though,” he says before exiting the room, letting his eyes linger on Chanyeol’s body for a few seconds, “let me know if you ever change your mind. We could have a lot of fun.”  
  
“Sure...”   
  
Chanyeol is left with mixed feelings, and a heavy heart. Eyes wandering to the flowers Baekhyun spread all over the room, he sighs.  
  
Trouble. It smells like trouble.

**Author's Note:**

> please let me know what you think in the comments below. and leave kudos if you like it. ♡


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